Favorite Teams

Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center opened a new Wellness Center in Cornelius that provides medical, dental, and vision services as well as spaces for exercise classes and community meetings.
(Andrea Castillo/Forest Grove Leader)

There’s no doubt that the Cover Oregon
website has been dogged with problems since it launched last October,
but the exchange’s IT problems are overshadowing a major policy success.
To date, thousands of Oregonians who were previously uninsured have
gained access to health care, benefiting all of us.

Here at Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center,
enrollment workers have already signed up more than 2,000 individuals
for health insurance and we’re working hard to enroll as many as 8,000
in the program’s first year.

We have eligibility workers at each of our clinics and at school-based health centers in Tigard and Hillsboro
helping families navigate the enrollment process. Virginia Garcia’s
eligibility workers are certified by Cover Oregon to assist families as
they fill out paper forms while the website is inactive and eventually
complete applications online.

Because we recognize that not everyone
will be signing up for health insurance in the first year, we plan to
make enrollment kiosks a permanent fixture at our clinics. Enrollment
workers at the Cornelius Wellness Center are also engaging in “inreach” to uninsured patients to educate them about their options and help them enroll.

A
core part of our mission at Virginia Garcia is overcoming the language
and cultural barriers that prevent many people in our community from
receiving quality care. Enrollment workers have been actively engaging
the community – attending community events in Washington and Yamhill
counties to educate people about their options for health coverage and
walk them through the Cover Oregon enrollment process.

At the
same time that Oregonians are signing up for health insurance through
Cover Oregon, Community Health Centers like Virginia Garcia are working
with Coordinated Care Organizations (CCOs)
to update the way we provide care and implement cost-effective measures
that improve patient outcomes. We’re establishing patients with a
primary care home and providing them with a team of providers and staff
who share knowledge and give patients personal attention. This
team-based model of care is working for the benefit of our patients and
it’s something we continue to expand and improve.

Virginia Garcia
currently serves over 36,000 patients, but there are thousands of
people in Washington and Yamhill counties who still don’t have access to
care. To meet this growing demand, Virginia Garcia is increasing our
capacity to provide services for patients where they live and work.

In 2012, Virginia Garcia opened a new Wellness Center in Cornelius that
provides medical, dental, and vision services as well as a teaching
kitchen and spaces for exercise classes and community meetings. We are
expanding our capacity in 2014 with a new dental clinic in Beaverton and new dental and medical clinics in Newberg.
By the end of the year, Virginia Garcia will be serving the community
with five medical clinics, five dental clinics, and five school-based
health centers. As we expand our physical footprint in the coming
months, we will be hiring dozens of new employees, including doctors,
nurses, and call center staff to join our dedicated team.

Virginia
Garcia’s reach extends beyond the walls of our clinics and out into our
community. During the summer months, we bring our services to migrant
and seasonal farmworkers where they work. Through our mobile clinics,
doctors and nurses join with volunteers to provide treatment and connect
patients with additional resources. Health educators provide education
on sexually transmitted diseases, pesticide exposure, and prevention of
work-related injuries.

As we work together to improve our health
care system, it is inevitable that there will be bumps along the way.
Despite the IT problems we have seen recently, the Affordable Care Act
and Cover Oregon have already made a huge difference in the lives of
thousands of Oregonians. If we keep our eye on the horizon and focus on
solutions, Oregon can continue to lead the nation in innovative health
care reform.